Southampton have only eight points after the first seven rounds and sit in the lower part of the table. The fans are not satisfied and manager Mauricio Pellegrino is feeling some pressure. Even more as the Saints are in mini series of two consecutive defeats. They lost 1:0 to Manchester United at St Mary and lost 2:1 to Stoke City at Britannia Stadium. Pellegrino is in danger of losing three successive Premier league matches, something that will surely increase the pressure on him. The players are well aware of the situation and I believe they will give the maximum on this match. Most of the players are ready, but Shane Long is rated as doubtful. The striker has missed the Republic of Ireland's game against Wales in the qualification for the World Cup because of a hip injury. According to the last news, Long is expected to recover in time for this match.

Newcastle are in the middle of the table with 10 points. I believe the fans are satisfied, especially because Newcastle are newcomers in the Premier league. However, the actual form is far from desired. The Magpies have one defeat and one draw on the last two games. They lost 1:0 to Brighton and played an 1:1 draw with Liverpool. The draw against Liverpool isn't a bad result, but the fact they were struggling to create chances surely is. Worst of all, the atmosphere in the squad is bad. Not because of the poor results, but something else - training ground fight between captain Jamaal Lascelles and Mo Diame. The situation is quite embarrassing for Newcastle and manger Rafa Benitez. Even more as midfielder Jonjo Shelvey fractured his finger trying to break up the fight between Lascelles and Diame. This isn't something new for Newcastle - in the match with Aston Villa in 2005, Kieron Dyer and his teammate Lee Bowyer were sent off after brawling with each other on the pitch. Benitez has some additional issues as five more players are struggling with injuries - defenders Paul Dummett and Massadio Haidara are definitely sidelined, while Christian Atsu, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey are rated as doubtful. The last one could play wearing a special cast.

Head to head record is on Southampton side. The Saints have won 15 Premier League matches against the Magpies, more than against any other team. Even more, Southampton have won the last four mutual games played at St Mary. The results are clearly showing the domination - 3:1 in April 2016, 4:0 in September and March 2014, and 2:0 in November 2012. As You could see, the Saints have scored 13 goals on the last four home matches.

Southampton vs Newcastle Prediction:

According to me, Southampton are favorites on this match. To be honest, this is more against Newcastle. The atmosphere in their squad is bad at the moment. I've already wrote about the fight between captain Jamaal Lascelles and Mo Diame. Manager Rafa Benitez has difficult type of problem - Southampton are the worst opponents for him. He has suffered defeat in all three of his previous Premier League games away to Southampton - with Liverpool in 2005, with Chelsea in 2013 and Newcastle in 2016. I expect another defeat for Benitez.